President Marie Antoinette wastes huge amounts of money on her six-hour inauguration while her beloved poor go without
The yellow lines trace the circling of the Armed Forces of Malta’s two King Air aircraft as they waited in mid-air for a 10-second flypast for President Marie Antoinette.
The amount of fuel eaten up by this procedure could have kept several of President Marie Antoinette’s starving poor in clover for months.
The money spent on lorry-loads of white roses and the three marquees which they decorated was also shocking. President Marie Antoinette never had a white wedding. She was too busy sleeping with married men and breaking up their marriages (I have written about this before – it’s not news).
I am left with the uncomfortable feeling that this massive splurge was the white wedding she never had – the marquees, the mass for a thousand, the white roses, Simon Busuttil and Joseph Muscat cast in the role of witnesses.
This was the realisation at last, in Marie Louise Coleiro’s late 50s, of the ‘princess for a day’ dream that dogs so many girls and women to the point where you can actually see that they are getting married for the sake of the big day, and the man is peripheral.
Women who relinquished their white wedding out of choice never give it a second thought. Women who never had the choice go on and on and on thinking about it like a goal they never achieved.
Sometimes you get brides in their 40s and even 50s going through the exact same palaver that is appropriate for a woman in her 20s: full fig and the white dress, church with a big congregation, a reception for many hundreds. It’s sad and pathetic, and the only reason it happens is because the aged bride needs closure on a teenage dream. Few things look as tragically inappropriate as a bride past the menopause in a wedding dress.
Marie Louise Coleiro married at 50. She knew better than to have a big white wedding (and she doesn’t like ceremonies…). But then she must have regretted it, and the Big White Wedding Substitute took place over six hours yesterday at the expense of the public purse.
Yes. What we saw today was not the inauguration of a president. It was the Socialist Wedding of the Century.
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Surprise, surprise. These days a national appointment seems to be the remedy that bleaches and whitens the conduct of certain people and remove all the stains that might have tarnished that good conduct expected from people of such high rank.
I dare not dwell on the subject lest I would be reminded that these are the days of progressive Labour and not expired Mintoffianism.
I did some quick online research.
The ceremony for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth in 1953 lasted almost 3 hours.
The swearing-in ceremony of President Barak Obama last year took just over 2 hours.
The swearing-in ceremony of President Coleiro Preca went on for 6 massive hours.
https://www.royal.gov.uk/LatestNewsandDiary/Pressreleases/2003/50factsaboutTheQueensCoronation.aspx
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/jan/20/obama-inauguration-timetable
This should make the headlines, or become the Quote of the Week.
All the freeloaders were out in the open today, telling the world on TV on just how “dejjem taqdihom bhal fairy godmother” (quoted from Xarabank) iittijhom kull ma jitolbuwha.
U kif kien jghid Toto’, e io pago.
And what was the prime minister’s wife wearing? A footman’s coat from some BBC Georgian period drama?
I hated the way people with special needs were conveniently used as props for her show today. I would say that it was a national white-wedding cum canonisation effort: the People’s Princess, but without Diana’s charisma, looks or elegance.
All hail Malta’s new People’s President, la x-xitan irid hekk.
Ranier Fsadni (an anthropologist) is pretty good on the subject of the wedding symbolism in yesterday’s inauguration:
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20140403/opinion/National-white-wedding.513349
Excellent piece which invites further reflection on all three responsible for “giving the bride away.”
Parents + 1 friend and the collusion of the 1 parent with the one friend in presenting the virgin bride.
The lesser the purity the more layered the shambles.
I rather feel sorry for the appendage, on both levels.
The distance from their hold to Valletta is greater than the distance from the airport. Not to mention that these aircraft are 100% of our long range SAR capability. To have them both committed, in formation no less, isn’t really the best of ideas.
Since there’s nothing we can do, because we’re in an absolute minority, I think it’s time we gave up commenting on the hamallocracy.
You’re right Baxxter.
Very soon we’ll be fighting for our minority rights.
We’re doomed, doomed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7RIgs3eygo
Besides, there’s a law against ridiculing the president of Malta. And Corradino Prison is one place I don’t wish to visit.
Aren’t the hunters supposed to be protecting our minority rights, interests, and if there are any left, our privileges?
Not such a bad thing – after all they’ve got the guns.
The bread there is delicious, Baxxter.
Bob-a-job
How the hell did you come up with that! I loved it . It brought a tear to my eyes. One of my favourite comic characters. Private Frazer must have voted Labour all his life.
And now it’s polite form to use ‘HI’ (crossed H – sorry I can’t cross it on my iPad) as Her Excellency did about six times on the two minutes of Xarabank I watched last night before feeling ill and switching channels.
@ H.P.Baxxter: I would be grateful if you would be so kind as to indicate to me the article and the Chapter of the Laws of Malta where ridiculing the President is an offence. I cannot find it.
[Daphne – It’s in the Press Act. It is indeed a crime to mock or criticise the president, but that law is unconstitutional so I have always ignored it and have no intention of stopping now when there is so very much to criticise and mock.]
Thank you very much indeed.
I wonder, Ms Caruana Galizia., since it is a crime to ‘criticise the president’, how can one really rate her future work as a ‘consultant’ to Jo’s government? Could she muck up and still be able to silence all opposition to her decisions?
“I will remain the person I always was”.
Lock up your husbands, ladies!
http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2014-04-04/news/i-will-remain-the-person-i-always-was-president-coleiro-preca-4506845184/
http://daphnecaruanagalizia.com/2011/05/dont-quote-marie-louise-arthur/
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20140404/local/updated-tremor-felt-in-various-parts-of-malta.513586
Oh wonderful. Now we have signs and portents, too.
Well Jo always said that there would be ‘ terimoti’ once elected…
Palace square was packed with Nexus lighting generators and vans. Ovvjament “is-sinjorina” lilhom riedet ghat-tieg.
And she played coy about the dress in case anyone doubted that this was the wedding day she always wanted:
http://www.independent.com.mt/mobile/2014-04-04/news/marie-louise-coleiro-preca-the-hours-beforebecoming-maltas-ninth-president-4499308544/
She just could not help wearing white. She did lose her awkward small hat somewhere down the line though.
Did everyone get several pee breaks during those six hours?
While the new President was inspecting the Guard of Honour I was, with trepidation, expecting her to spot a loose button in one of the uniforms and point it out to the Brigadier as she did with that soap-dish.
Somehow, the scene she had conjured for a missing sapuniera in that staged inspection of an old woman’s bathroom came to mind.
The prime minister is such a stickler for protocol. The president waited for him to arrive to lay the wreaths at the war memorial.
The hypocrisy of these people is staggering.
https://www.facebook.com/DOImalta/photos/a.682357431809979.1073741928.175517589160635/682357721809950/?type=1&theater
Let us say that our new president matured late in life, morally and politically. Just like the current Italian president.
Unlike Giorgio Napolitano she has not renounced her past, not yet.
Let us hope she will do so eventually and turn out to be a great head of state like him.
It will take loads of humility for her to declare publicly “I will NOT remain the person I always was” but she is still in time to do so and to grow immensely in stature.
The helicopters were holding above Portomaso tower and their pilots were seriously worried about the fuel they had.One of them joked and said they might as well have used a low loader. As is now the norm, the ceremony was running late.
May be she expecting her Russian royal family to turn up unannounced?!
Somebody should have told her beforehand that when inspecting a guard of honour she mustn’t wave at people.
And when standing to attention during the playing of the national anthem, heads of state do not sing with the band. Nor should anybody else.
There’s so much she still has to learn about protocol and how to behave generally. She says she will continue to be herself. But when she inspects the guard of honour or listens to the anthem, she is not Marie Louise Coleiro. She is the head of state. And the head of state does not wave during the inspection or sing the Innu Malti out loud.
She could learn a thing or two from her predecessor, a comrade socialist like she is, but who at least despite his several faux pas afterwards showed some form of dignity during his investiture.
WOW!! I thought your ignorance had a limit =// I think you being a journalist “a one-sided journalist” indeed, would understand that she has no power over such ceremonies. Such ceremonies are very normal, and I think that you are speaking from the vague mouth of a donkey that only knows how to criticize people that are on the party that you oppose. I agree with you that the ceremony was a waste of money, but to blame her for the ceremony and bring in her life issues in the story is complete ignorance and stupidity, I now understand why some people from certain parties are so bloody stupid, since they read your retarded blogs
I do thank-you however for making my evening entertaining!
Regards, N/A
[Daphne – I am bilingual. There is no need to express yourself in English. I understand Maltese perfectly well.]
well said she is a one STUPID SIDED journalist i ve never met in my life. i only say this i ve showed her non sense comments and all i got from an international journalist was “oh god wh is the stupid idiot” ha ha daphne go get a life woman
Its hard to read this article seriously when you didn’t even get the name right
[Daphne – President Marie Antoinette is a comparative reference to the 18th-century queen of France, FS.]
It was a touch of genius to invite those who, because of their unfortunate situation, did not have a chance in hell of outshining her.
One could certaily see from the lack of crowd in St George’s square that all is not well in Marilweeze land.
Oh and by the way, does the government of Malta realize that there has been a change in president? George Abela is still featured on their site http://president.gov.mt/official_photo_president?l=1
Let them eat cake!
Why are you trying to mock of Simon Busuttil as being a witness? Simon is a very respected person.
Daphne, investigate the new home in Gozo for domestic violence victims. Ghandek biex tixxala. Really a scandalous mess.
This country really is going to the dogs.
You are right, Daphne. She was envisaging the big white wedding she never had.